Marigold | Flower Seed Grow Kit

While the boisterous Marigold hails from Mexico and Guatemala, it has understandably charmed gardeners all over the world. Today, this brilliant and amazingly versatile flower is cultivated in diverse climates across the globe, from the tropics to the coldest northern zones. The genus Tagetes is a group of about 50 annual herbs within the very large Asteraceae family (often identified as the Sunflower or Daisy family) — a collection of over 23,000 important floral species distributed worldwide.

Tagetes erecta’s common names include Aztec Marigold, Mexican Marigold, and Big Marigold, but it is most commonly called African Marigold (a holdover from the flower’s introduction to Europe through North Africa in the 16th Century). In Mexico, the flower is known by its Aztec name, campasúchil, which translates to “twenty petals,” a reference to the Marigold’s ornate “inflorescences” — golden gem-shaped flower heads up to 5“ across, composed of many small flowers (florets) compacted together. In Thailand, Marigolds are called daoruang, which means “star glittering.”

The hardy-growing Tagetes erecta is the tallest type of Marigold (ranging from 7” to 4 feet-tall). Its flowers resemble small finely-textured pom-poms — mini-explosions of intense orange, yellow, red, mahogany, or butter-cream color floating over the plant’s deep green foliage. The golden round blooms contribute not only firework blasts of rich color, but also tremendous textural variety, to any landscape, all while decorating the air with their remarkable smoky citrus scent.